Keys to Freedom
by Deac Kaichou
Summary: During an important mission, Erza finds a mysterious girl, half dead, in the woods. She brings her back to the guild. Erza's mission revealed that Zeref is only two keys away from rebirth. What secrets will the newcomer hold? When help is needed, friends show up in even the darkest corners. Lucy is determined to make a difference, to stand and fight with her friends. Slow NaxLu


**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**H****ey guys, I am in high school this is my first fanfiction so feel free to comment on any places that need improvement. I may not have time to make timely updates but I will try my best. There will be OCs in this story. Be paient with the NaXLu, it will come**

Chapter 1

Lucy looked up from her breakfast as she heard the opening of the Fairy Tail gate.

"Erza's back," Natsu mumbled, spurting food out from his mouth. She looked at the dragon slayer with slight annoyance. Then she noticed the bloody body that the red-haired mage was carrying.

"Holy shit, what happened," she heard Gray mutter quietly.

"Master," Erza yelled, "I found her in the forest. She's in terrible condition and deteriorating very quickly." The elderly man wobbled over and examined the slender frame. Lucy stood on her tiptoes to get a better look. Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth to prevent screaming. There were bruises and gashes all over her body. Most of the exposed skin was covered in dried blood, and her arm looked disfigured and broken.

"How the hell she still alive?" Lucy heard someone murmured, wondering.

" I'll get Wendy," Lucy said trying to find a way to get away. As if on cue, the little healer popped up. Wendy tried to look unaffected by the amount of blood and furrowed her eyebrows. A blue light hovered above the silver-haired body. As the gashes started closing up, and the bruises started fading, the noise started to return. Lucy noticed Mira picking up the injured girl and taking her upstairs as she gathered with the rest of her team.

"What happened?" Master Makarov asked for the rest of them.

"Well," Erza took a deep breath and began, "I was on the mission that you gave me. I was eating dinner when I felt a great magical power coming from the woods, so I ran towards at. I found her there. At that time, her wounds looked fresh, and there was a terrible dark magic pulsing in her wounds. I think you can still feel it." Master and the others nodded, but Lucy hadn't felt anything. Maybe she was too focused on the wounds to notice. "I examined the area, but there was no sign of damage around. I took her back here, and that's it."

Everyone was pondering over what Erza had said when Mira popped up and forced a cheerful smile, "she is stirring." Lucy and the rest of them went up to the white room. Lucy saw, much to her relief, that the girl was completely healed; her pale skin had no scars.

"Wendy sure is amazing," Lucy said feeling a pain of jealousy. "Why can't I do something cool like that," she thought to herself. Lately, Lucy has been asking that question a lot. The celestial mage hated being weak and protected. Lucy shook her head and studied the girl closely. Her long silver hair was neatly tucked to one side. Her eyes fluttered opened. The master wobbled up and said, "Hey, how are you feeling? I'm Makarov."

"Other than being beaten to death, quite fine. What happened?" she asked.

"I found you in the forest. I'm Erza," the red haired mage stepped up to the white bed and smiled a rare smile.

"What? A forest? How the hell did I get into a forest? Oh…um…thank you Erza. I am Mayura. Mai for short."

"Mai, it means dance, right? Nastu asked, "Where did you come from and how did you get so beaten up?"

Lucy elbowed him in the stomach. Sometimes the dragon slayer just doesn't know when to stop.

Mai hesitated, ignoring Natsu's yelling, and look up confused, "I…I don't… know. Tell you the truth, I really don't remember anything, only fragments, flashes." She dipped her head in apology.

"It okay," Lucy said all of a sudden, "No one is going to blame you."

Gray quickly caught on and said," Lucy's right. If you don't have a place to go you can stay here, in the guild."  
"A guild…" Mai said unsurely.

"Aye, you're in a guild right now. The best in the world; Fairy Tail!" Happy chirped, his chest puffing out with pride for his home. Mira quickly cut in before Mai could have an answer.

"Now, you don't have to make the decision quite yet. Rest for a while, then you can decide." Lucy smiled at the motherly mage. Mai nodded and smiled to herself. Her eyes seemed unfocused, her eyes looking in the distance, like she was having a vision.

"Mira sure know how to make people more comfortable," the celestial mage said out loud. Everyone nodded in agreement as they went down the stairs.

"Master," Erza called out, "I need to talk to you." Lucy tried to lean closer to hear the quiet discussion. She could only out up fragments of it. Turning her head, Lucy could also see Gray and Natsu trying to listen.

"It seems…key was destroyed… Zeref."

Lucy's eyes widened as she registered the meaning. One more key was destroyed. Lucy did a silent calculation in her head.

"That leaves two more," Natsu whispered quietly before Lucy could say anything, "only two more, then Zeref would be released." Lucy has very limited information in the dark wizard, but she (well, more of Natsu, Gray and Erza) has fought Lullaby and Deloria, which were Zeref's creations. Even she knew that Zeref's release would be the end of it. Lucy looked at Makarov to see how he would take it. The master was as normal, closing his eyes and thinking.

"That's not good," the old mage stated, "make sure you don't mention it to anyone else, Erza. You too, Lucy, Natsu, Gray."

Lucy smiled sheepishly, "Nothing can ever get past you, can it?"

He smiled and said, "Come over here. We don't need to cause any chaos with that information. But it is true, only two more keys left."

"But what about the Magic Council? Can't they to anything about it? After all, it is their duty to," Natsu yelled.

"I'm sorry to say, but we can not depend on the Magic Council anymore. All we have is the wizard saints, and with me included, which, at best, six or seven left. Don't worry about the keys. The main things that we do need to focus on are the people trying to resurrect Zeref; the dark guilds. We will wait for now." Makarov was saved from saying anything more because the two pale haired women came down the stairs. Mai was walking quite normally, the only thing that signified any injure were the dark circles under her eyes. She observed the rambunctious surroundings. Natsu and Gray were currently engaged in a verbal assault.

"You wanna go, flamebreath?"

"Yeah, and I'm gonna kick your ass, underpants."

Lucy just rolls her eyes as she greets Mai.

"Don't worry, this happens all the time," She reassured the tense girl beside her, "our guild is rowdy one. I've only been here for 8 months, but I love it here."

"Well, this is one weird guild. Fairy Tail, right? It's an interesting name."

"Yeah, because we can never know if fairies have tail, it is a never-ending adventure. That's the meaning behind the name," Lucy looked at the newcomer only to find her being dragged away by Makarov.

"EVERYONE!" Makarov bellowed, growing into his giant form, "This is Mayura, Mai for short. She will be staying here temporarily. I want you all to be nice and gentle. We wouldn't want anyone spread rumors about our guild!"

Mai looked quite uncomfortable. "Um…hi?" Luckily, everyone didn't notice her dim-witted greeting. Unluckily, everyone was crowding around asking her questions.

"I really don't remember what happened. Just some flashes of memories. Um…wizard? Well, I am an element user," Mai answered question after question.

"Element user? Like ice?" Gray asked curiously.

"Who would want to use ice? Fire is obviously much better, underpants man." Nastu snorted.

"No, no. I am an bender of all," the silver-haired girl quickly said, breaking the fight.

"That is very rare. Is it creation magic?" Erza asked, joining the conversation.

"No, its like bending the element."

"Like Juvia," Lucy said, nodding her head, "Oh, I should introduce you to some people. This is Gray, a ice make user. This is Erza, a re-equip mage. She is also known as Titania."

"Aye, she very strong and scary," the blue cat interrupted, "I'm Happy, and I like fish. This is Nastu, a fire dragon-slayer. He is my best friend."

Mai laughed quietly, "well, I'll be sure to get some fish for you."

"Amen, if you don't mind," Lucy eyed the blue cat," I will continue the introduction. This is Elfman."

"I'm a man."

"This is Juvia."

"Juvia is happy to meet you."

"This is Gajeel."

"Hey, sexy."

"Um…this is an…fascinating guild. Although a bit crazy and rambunctious" Mai mumbled self-consciously.

"You'll get use to it. Oh. Look, Master has an announcement to make." Erza assured the element user before turning her head towards the growing master."

"I just want you to remember that the annual New Year festival is coming tomorrow. Please note that this is a formal occasion. Oh, and everyone is required to have a date. If she is staying, which I recommend she does, Mai also needs a date so no complaining."

"Fuck," Mai, Lucy and Erza swore simultaneously.


End file.
